Sandalwood Elementary Earns National Designation

Tammy Will wasn’t sure what to expect when she enrolled her son, Cody Weaver, in  in Essex last year.

Will said tht any concerns she may have had were quickly alleviated when she saw how hands-on Sandalwood's faculty and staff were, and how willing they were to help any child who needed extra help.

“The school just welcomed my son with open arms,” said Will, who is also a school volunteer. “They just are ready to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure their students are successful.”

Will is not alone in taking notice.

Sandalwood recently was named a National Title I Distinguished School for the 2011-12 school year.

The school was recognized by the National Title I Association for scoring highest in the two most recent Maryland State Assessments in “closing the achievement gap among student groups among the 400 Maryland Title I schools considered for the annual national recognition, ” according to a news release by Baltimore County Public Schools.

The release also stated, “Title I is a federally-funded education program that provides additional funding for schools and school systems with high populations of economically disadvantaged students.”

The Title I status, the release continued, allows individual schools and their respective school districts “to obtain additional resources to enhance reading, mathematics and science programs.”

'Fluid' Instructional Approach

Sandalwood Elementary Principal Phillip Byers said achieving academic success at his school requires a flexible instructional approach for a diverse student population.

According to state attendance figures, 69 percent of Sandalwood's enrollment is African-American and an additional 12 percent is Hispanic/Latino. And for many Hispanic/Latio students, English is a language they are just beginning to learn.

“We are evaluating our children on a daily basis and not just a monthly or quarterly basis,” Byers said. “We examine all of the children’s work and we provide extra instruction at the first sign of struggles.”

Among the steps Sandalwood takes to address students’ academic needs, Byers said, are “lunch bunch” study groups, a morning homework club and positive reinforcement.

“Even if a student is getting As and Bs, if they struggle in a particular lesson we’ll pull them out into a smaller group for additional instruction,” Byers said.

Fourth-grade science and math teacher Brian Stahl said faculty members constantly communicate to ensure each other is aware of how a student is faring in a subject.

“It’s all about being proactive and working as a team and not individual teachers,” Stahl said. “We also coordinate to try and insert work from other subjects into one another's lesson plans to reinforce areas of concern.”

Student Involvement Key

Will said that along with the academic support Sandalwood offers, she has also been impressed with how the school has worked to get the students more involved in extracurricular activities. Some of these activities include a Scrabble club, intramural basketball and a math club.

“The students really feel a sense of ownership and pride within the school,” Will said. “The teachers work really hard to make every student feel like they are a part of the community and that’s so important at this age.”

Sandalwood is the third Baltimore County elementary school to receive the national designation in as many years. Chadwick Elementary School in Woodlawn was honored in 2009, while Millbrook Elementary in Pikesville received the same designation in 2010.

"This honor represents a lot of hard work by the teachers, staff, students, and parents at Sandalwood Elementary School,” Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent Joe Hairston said in a statement.

"They understand that it takes a coordinated, committed, and positive effort to ensure the kind of school and instruction that extends academic opportunity to every child."